Though the church faces opposition in Vietnam, they are not remaining silent. Christians are showing Christ’s love to others around them in many ways. In some parts of Vietnam, believers have begun ministering to people who struggle with drug addictions. Some pastors have been allowed to visit prisons and minister to the inmates there. Through these ministries, more Vietnamese people are coming to Christ and the government sees that Christianity can be helpful in society.

It is not always easy to love your enemies when you are being persecuted. One Vietnamese church leader told us, “We used to hate the authorities who persecuted us.”

However, God changed the heart of this leader and others: “[After a meeting] with five other church leaders, I said we should change the way we are with [the authorities]—try to talk about the good things about them,” he recalled. “We should show them Christ’s love. We should show them that we love Vietnam and want to build up the country.”

It’s this attitude that has helped forge better relationships between Vietnamese Christians and government officials. No matter how much persecution they face, believers continue to help those whom society has shunned and show Christ’s love even to those officials who oppress them.

Join Vietnamese believers in praying for their relationships with the communist government.

Pray for more Christians to find favor with government officials and be allowed to minister to Vietnamese people.

Pray for churches to form from the people who have heard the gospel and believed through the current ministries.

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Throughout the month of May 2015, we are asking individuals, families, groups of friends, small groups, and churches to join with us and commit to pray for the peoples of Vietnam. We will be posting stories and sharing ways to pray daily through the blog, Facebook, and Twitter. You can also download a prayer guide and other resources here.